7 Steps to a Proper Wardrobe Clear Out

1 Question- Is this something you truly want to do? Owning little may not be for everyone. Are you willing to be realistic and brutal with yourself?

2 Take Out Everything- Making sure you have enough time for this task, un-hang, unfold, and pull out every clothing item you won. No questioning in this part just remove everything from your wardrobe. You’re going to need a clean place to put everything. It’s best to remove it all from the room it came from and into a difference.

3 Classification- Organize your clothes into three classifications : the first is for the clothes you are for sure you want to keep. You are 101% sure you’d have multiple uses for them. The next is for storage. Anything you’ve decided to keep but may not wear it for the current season due to practical reasons, such as weather, goes here. Also anything you are absolutely unsure about can be stored for the next season and be up for judgement then. The last pile is the “going” pile, all of the things you decided you no longer want. These clothes can either go to the trash if they aren’t suitable to be worn, thrift shops, or donated to family and friends who may put better use to them. These items are the stained, torn, worn out, out of interest, and clothes that haven’t been worn in a year or more. And be real with yourself, if a year’s gone by and you haven’t worn something you probably shouldn’t own it.

4 Purging- Once you’ve finished classifying, collect your “going” clothes by storing them in trash bags. You should’ve already separated the clothes to donate from the clothes going in the trash. Immediately take your trash clothes out to the garbage and your donated clothes to your local thrift shop or friend’s house. Letting your clothes linger, even if they’re stored in bags, will tempt you to go through them.

5 Clean- Before putting your clothes back in take this opportunity to give your wardrobe a quick cleaning. Wipe surfaces, scrub off scuff marks and stains, sweep and or vacuum.

6 Prep Your Clothes- This is optional but to go to the extra mile give all your clothes a wash, including your store away clothes so they’re nice and fresh. Iron your clothes going into the wardrobe so they’re all presentable and literally ready to wear.

7 Put Everything Back- Now it’s time to put everything back. Use storage bins to keep your stored clothes for the next season. I like to keep my clothes color coordinated.